It all started when she noticed that the tiny pug — "the runt of the litter", Terri says — who was refusing to eat his own dog foot suddenly started "licking the teat" of the bottle Terri used to feed her son Lucas.

Terri eventually let Spider drink directly from the source, and hasn't looked back since.

The 44-year-old Californian says she's always lamented her inability to successfully breastfeed her two children — both were bottle-fed — and was overjoyed that she was finally able to get "the breastfeeding experience" she missed out on.

"People may say I'm a freak," she told Closer, "but having Spider suck on my boob means I finally feel complete and a better mother."

Does it hurt? "Her tongue tickles and I do feel her teeth," Terri says, "but she latches on in a way that they don't hurt me."

And one last quote: "I breastfeed Spider in front of the kids and they think it's amazing."